If Only
by RBabe500
Summary: Ok, this is definatly now a Daria/Trent fic now.....gets very weird in ch. 3...which is now up.....not your average Daria/Trent romance.....please read! ^_^
1. "Too Bad..."

Well, I figured it was about time I wrote a Daria fic..so here it is..I give you my first attempt at a Daria fic!!! Now, I sorta messed with everything you know about Daria, regarding the plot and stuff. This takes place directly after Lane Miserables, so any episodes that occur after that never happened. Just trust me here, ok? R&R please! ^_^ Praise is welcome (hint hint lol)...  
  
Disclaimer: I dun own any of these characters, nor do I have permission to use them in this fic..but oh well.I dun care..read away people, read away...  
  
"Too bad you're not a few years older, huh? I could take you out."  
  
It was the day after Jane and Trent had stayed over. I lay on my bed, staring at the ceiling. Trent's words repeated over and over in my head. What exactly did it mean? Did it mean he liked me but knew it wouldn't work out because of the age difference, or did it mean that to him I would always simply be his sister's friend? Or was I reading too much into the whole thing? I was so confused.  
  
In a rare moment of letting my feelings show, I allowed a tear to fall from my eye and slide down my cheek. Not seeing any tissues in sight, I wiped it away with my hand, lest anyone see it and know that even I could cry.  
  
Only seconds later, Quinn appeared in my doorway holding the cordless phone. She held it out toward me. "It's that friend of yours. The one who paints."  
  
I stared at her. "Hello? Earth to Daria.the phone? It's for you. Don't be long, ok? Sandi is supposed to call me soon to let me know where the Fashion Club is meeting tomorrow," she rambled on.  
  
I shook my head to clear my thoughts. I hadn't even heard the phone ring. I got up and took the phone from Quinn.  
  
"Jane?" I said as Quinn walked away.  
  
"The one and only. Listen, Mystik Spiral has a gig tomorrow at some new teen club. It's gonna be all people like Quinn and Britney who won't appreciate their music. I figured we could go for moral support."  
  
"This wouldn't be one of your schemes to get me and Trent in the same room, would it?"  
  
"Oh no, that's too simple. This is part of one of my schemes to get you and Trent alone. So, you in?"  
  
I sighed. "Sure. Nothing better to do."  
  
"Great! Me and Trent will pick you up around seven tomorrow night."  
  
"Great," I said with my usual enthusiasm. "See you then." I hung up, then headed downstairs to inform the people who call themselves my parents. As usual, Mom was on the phone.  
  
"No, Eric! Tell them I need the papers now!" she screamed into the telephone. "I don't care! You tell them I can't wait two days!" I took one look at her and decided to go find Dad.  
  
Dad was sitting on the couch reading the newspaper. 'For once he doesn't look too stressed out. Wow,' I thought. "Um, Dad?"  
  
He looked up from his paper. "Oh, Daria. Glad you came down, kiddo. I found more tapes from when I was young. Wanna watch them with me? do a little father-daughter bonding?"  
  
'Yes, and then let's go have a family picnic in the park,' I thought.  
  
"Well, what do you say, kiddo?" he asked.  
  
I sighed. Watching Dad's not-so-fond childhood memories with him wasn't high on my to-do list. But I felt bad for him. Hopefully after a few minutes of watching it he'd start yelling at the TV and I could sneak away. "Sure, Dad."  
  
I sat down in a chair as Dad hit play. He stared at the TV, watching. But my thoughts strayed.  
  
"Too bad you're not a few years older, huh? I could take you out."  
  
I shook my head. 'Get out of my head!' I screamed silently to myself.  
  
I began to daydream. I was in an amusement park. I was in front of a Ferris Wheel. I really wanted to go on, but not by myself. Then I felt a hand on my shoulder. It was Trent.  
  
"Hey, Daria," he said.  
  
"Oh, um, hi, Trent," I said, my skin tingling where his hand still sat on my shoulder.  
  
"You wanna go on with me?" he asked, looking at the Ferris Wheel.  
  
I suppressed a smile. "Sure," I replied, trying not to sound as happy as I felt. Trent grinned at me, and I felt my heart melt. We got on and sat down. We didn't really say anything to each other. Then I felt Trent take my hand.  
  
"Daria? I need to tell you something," he said.  
  
"Yes, Trent?" I replied, looking into his eyes.  
  
"I think I'm in love with you," he said. Without giving me time to respond, he leaned in to kiss me. I closed my eyes, and waited for the feel of his lips on mine.  
  
Instead, I opened my eyes to the sight of my father screaming at the TV. I sighed and got up. I went up to my room, shut the door, and cried all the tears I had held in for all those years. 


	2. "Be Honest..."

Before you read this, let me warn you..this chapter is completely pointless..it's short, it's dumb, and it's uneventful..but it will be needed in future chapters..trust me, I know what I'm talking about (I hope.x_x.)..anyways, R&R like alwayz..enjoy! ^_^  
  
Disclaimer: Wow.what a surprise..I still don't own any of these characters..blah blah blah..  
  
  
  
  
  
Sometime later, I heard a knock on my door. "Daria? Mom says to come down for dinner. And hurry up. I need to call Tiffany back, but Mom says I can't call her until after dinner," Quinn said from the other side of my door. When I didn't answer her, she knocked again. "Daria! Hello? Did you hear me? Let's go!"  
  
While Quinn was busy rambling on, I was looking in my mirror making sure no one would be able to tell that I had been crying.  
  
Just as Quinn went to knock again, I opened my door, causing her to practically fall into me. "Well it's about time!" she cried, heading toward the steps. Following her, I headed toward the kitchen.  
  
"I'm going over to Jane's," I announced.  
  
"Hold on a second, Eric," Mom said into the phone. "What do you mean you're going over to Jane's? What about dinner?" she asked me. "No Eric, not you. I was talking to my daughter. No, not the perky one. Yes, the depressed one. I mean, no, Daria's not depressed, Eric. Oh, I don't care how much you know about depression."  
  
Looking at Dad, I said, "Bye."  
  
"Wait, kiddo! I made lasagna! Don't you want some?"  
  
I eyed the tray of lasagna suspiciously. "No thanks.Not hungry." And with that, I walked out the door.  
  
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~  
  
When I got to Jane's house, Trent opened the door. "Hey, Daria," he said.  
  
"Um, hey, Trent," I replied, remembering my daydream earlier.  
  
"Janey's out. She went to Dega Street for some new art supplies, I think. Or maybe that was yesterday.."  
  
"Do you know when she'll be back? I need to get away from my family for a while."  
  
"She'll probably be back around five o' clock." Trent replied.  
  
I raised an eyebrow at him. "Um, Trent? It's six thirty.."  
  
He looked at me. "Oh. Well, she'll be back sooner or later. You can come in and wait for a bit if you want."  
  
I blushed. 'Great. I'll be alone with Trent. With no clue when Jane will be back. Maybe I should just go home,' I thought. Against my better judgement, I agreed.  
  
Trent sat down on the couch. "You can sit next to me you know. I don't bite," he said, laughing. Then his laughter turned to coughing.  
  
I blushed even more, regretting my decision to wait with him. Regardless of that fact, I sat down next to him.  
  
"Hey, Daria, could you do me a favor?" Trent asked, grabbing a notebook off the floor.  
  
"Um, sure." I replied.  
  
"Could you read my newest lyrics and tell me if they're any good?"  
  
"Sure. I guess." I replied again.  
  
"Cool," Trent said, opening the notebook to a certain page. He handed it to me saying, "You're good with writing and stuff, so I figure I'm better off asking you than Jesse. And be honest, ok? If they tank, let me know."  
  
"Don't worry, Trent. I'll tell you the truth." But inside I was thinking, 'I can't tell him the truth if it sucks.but I'll feel so bad lying to him.' Taking the notebook I began to read.  
  
You make my heart wail, You're as cold as the hail That falls on my head You make me wish I was dead.  
  
I looked up. "That's it? A little short, don't you think?"  
  
Trent shrugged. "I thought it up on the way home from your house. But by the time I got here and found my notebook and a pen, I forgot the rest of the lyrics."  
  
'Because I'm sure they were as good as these,' I thought sarcastically.  
  
"So, what do you think, Daria?" Trent asked.  
  
Fortunately, Jane chose that moment to walk through the front door. Seeing me and Trent sitting on the couch together, she rubbed her eyes and said, "Oh, sorry. Did I interrupt something?" She shot me a look. I shot one right back at her.  
  
"Hey, Janey. Daria came by looking for you and I told her she could wait here for you," Trent said, oblivious to the looks Jane and I were giving each other.  
  
Jane eyed the notebook still in my hands. "What's that?" she asked.  
  
"I wanted Daria to read some new lyrics," Trent replied.  
  
Jane raised an eyebrow. "Lucky Daria," she said. Then looking at me she added, "My room or pizza?"  
  
"Pizza. I didn't eat dinner," I said. Jane nodded.  
  
"Later, Trent," she said.  
  
"Later, Janey. See ya, Daria," he replied.  
  
I handed his notebook back to him, and Jane and I left.  
  
Unknown to me or Jane, Trent was staring out the window at our backs as we walked up the block. He sighed one long sigh, then went to get ready for Mystik Spiral's practice later that evening. 


	3. "I've Been Thinking A Lot..."

I'm so happy I made it to Ch. 3 of this fic..I have a bad habit of abandoning stories after the 2nd chapter...x_x..thanx to everyone who read n' reviewed this fic so far.I feel so loved..well, ya know.my fic feels loved..whatever..anywayz, here's Ch. 3..sorry it took me so long to update...there was the whole pre-school frenzy and stuff, then school started, so I didn't have time to type it up and upload it here..but it is finally here..and this chapter turned out so much different than it was supposed to..but now I have direction for this fic.finally...R&R like alwayz.^_^..oh, before I forget..this chapter is from Trent's perspective..I'll throw it back to Daria in the next chapter, but for now, I let you enter the mind of Trent..be afraid, be very afraid..  
  
Disclaimer: Blah, blah, blah..same old, same old..  
  
  
  
~ * ~  
  
As Daria and Janey left, I watched them slowly walking up the block until they disappeared around the corner. I sighed, regretting yet another missed chance to tell Daria how I felt. Heading up the steps to my room, my feet felt as if they were made of cement.  
  
Janey thinks I'm completely oblivious to what goes on around me. I'm not. I hear all the hints Janey drops about how Daria feels about me. not that she needs to drop hints. I figured out Daria had a thing for me from the beginning. I mean, she blushes whenever I say anything to her, and always seems kinda nervous when I'm around. You would have to be pretty dense not to notice that..  
  
I'm not nervous with girls. Never have been. And I never had a problem telling them how I felt. But with Daria, it's different. I cant ever seem to find the right time, let alone the right words.  
  
Even if I did manage to tell her, I have to wonder what it would be like. There's the age difference, you know? I have to wonder how that would affect our relationship. Plus, as far as I know, Daria's never had a boyfriend before. I'm more experienced in relationships than she is. Take that comment however you like.  
  
The other thing I worry about is that Daria and I are from two different worlds. She's so smart, and I'm just some guy who barely made it through high school. I'm not stupid or anything, don't get the wrong idea. My teachers used to call me a slacker. Said I had no motivation. Said I never would get anywhere in life. Maybe they were right...  
  
~ * ~ * ~ * ~  
  
I walked into my room and grabbed my guitar. I didn't know what time it was, but I figured it was time to head over to Jesse's for Mystik Spiral's practice. [A/N: I know that on the TV show, they always have practice at Trent's house, but for the chapter to work, I decided they were gonna have practice at Jesse's.] 'We really should change the name,' I thought as I headed outside and began the daily search for where I parked my car.  
  
I managed to find it fairly quickly and was about to get in when I saw her. Monique. We'd broken up the night before. With Daria so fresh in my mind, the last person I wanted to see was Monique. I debated jumping in my car and getting away before she saw me, but it was too late. She had spotted me and was heading over to where I was standing.  
  
Even with Daria on my mind, I couldn't help but notice how beautiful Monique looked. In the sunlight, her pale skin looked even paler, but it made her heavily-lined eyes stand out even more. She was stunning.  
  
"Hey," she said, no emotion on her face or in her voice.  
  
"Hey, Monique," I replied, trying to sound normal.  
  
"Listen, I've been thinking a lot since last night, and I think we should stay broken up this time. Our relationship is never going to go anywhere, Trent. God knows I love you, but we're just dragging each other down," she said.  
  
I nodded slowly. Her words hurt, but in my heart I knew they were true.  
  
"That's not all, Trent," she continued. "Listen, I don't know if I should be the one to tell you this or not, but since I'm here and Jesse isn't, I guess I will."  
  
I frowned, confusion clearly showing on my face as I tried to figure out what she was trying to say. "Jesse? What are you talking about, Monique?"  
  
Monique took a deep breath. "I ran into Jesse earlier today, and we started talking. And well, he asked me out. And I said yes. I thought you should know."  
  
I stared at her, letting her words seep in. Emotions burned deep in me. Sorrow for loosing Monique. Anger at being betrayed by my best friend. Confusion toward my feelings for both Monique and Daria. But the anger at Jesse was the strongest. Wordlessly, I got into my car and revved up the engine. I sped off. The tires screeched, and smoke began to come out from under the hood of my car. I knew I was pushing my already fragile car to its limits. But I didn't care.  
  
Faintly behind me, I could hear Monique screaming after me.  
  
~ * ~ * ~ * ~  
  
I reached Jesse's house in no time. I double parked my car, got out, and headed in. the front door was open, so I walked right in and down to the basement where we hold practice. As I went down the steps, I could hear Nick and Max arguing and Jesse playing his guitar, ignoring them.  
  
Jesse must have heard me coming down the steps, because he stopped playing and looked up. Oblivious to the hatred I was feeling toward him, he said, "Hey, man. You made it. We gonna practice for the gig tomorrow?  
  
I opened my mouth to reply, but Jesse interrupted me. "By the way, man; have you seen my shirt? I think I left it at your house."  
  
Nick stopped arguing with Max for a second to comment, "What are you talking about? You never wear a shirt."  
  
Jesse was silent for a moment. "Oh yeah.so Trent, you ready for practice?"  
  
By that point, all the anger was gone from my body, and I knew what I had to do. "We're not practicing for the gig tomorrow because we're not doing the gig."  
  
"Huh?" said Max, temporarily forgetting his argument with Nick.  
  
"We're not doing the gig tomorrow," I continued, "because I quit."  
  
"What?" they all said simultaneously. "You can't quit, man. You're lead vocals!," Jesse said.  
  
"You can take lead vocals, Jesse. You already took Monique from me," I said sharply.  
  
Jesse's eyes grew wide. "How'd you know, man?" he said softly.  
  
"I saw Monique before. She told me."  
  
Jesse looked at his feet, avoiding my gaze. "Look, Trent, I'm sorry. It's just, you guys are always breaking up, and I thought.."  
  
I didn't give him a chance to finish. I turned and walked up the steps, out of his house, and got into my car. He didn't go after me.  
  
I sat in my car for a minute, my head in my hands. Slowly, I began to realize what I had just done. I had quit Mystik Spiral. Mystik Spiral was my life. It was the air I breathed, it was the food I ate. It was everything to me.  
  
I closed my eyes took a deep breath, then slowly let it out. Thoughts passed through my head at rapid speeds, but one stood out clearly. 'Yeah, it could work,' I thought. Then, out loud, "Ok, then. I'm gonna go to college." 


End file.
